By Mark Squibb / June 16, 2023
Bay Bulls council this week awarded the engineering design contract for phase 2 of the Long Pond Walking Trail project, and it seemed only one company was available for the work.
Councillor Corey Ronayne moved that council award the contract to Mills & Wright for a total cost of $17,495, plus HST.
Royane asked staff whether any another companies had submitted quotes, and Town manager Jennifer Aspell replied in the negative.
“We did quite a bit of contacting other municipalities and a number of different organizations, and there was only a couple of potential providers that were recommended,” said Aspell. “And we can’t become members of the Grand Concourse due to the existing trail design, so that eliminated that option, which left us with just one real choice. But they have done quite a bit, and the few municipalities that have used them have highly recommended them.”
Work on the design began back in 2020 and the trail will be a combination of compacted granular stone and a boardwalk with a focus on accessibility.
Phase I of the project was cost shared by the federal, provincial, and municipal governments under a Municipal Capital Works program, with each government paying a third of the cost, which works out to $143,702 each for a total of $475,444 (less HST). Phase II is valued at $144,229, and of that cost, the Town only has to contribute $14,422, which is 10 per cent. The rest of the cost was covered by provincial COVID Stimulus Funding.
